Day 1 rockaway

We woke up early and pushed off by 7 am. We were not looking to spend any additional time at the Columbia inn. The weather changed overnight. It was about 60 and slightly misty but no fog. We headed out towards warrenton across the bridge and were excited to find that the bike lane had been widened and the lane reprinted since the last time we rode across. This made he.bridge much less treacherous to cross. He early start also meant traffic was light. Our first stop was the Fred Meyer in warrenton. We stopped in for bagels. Moving along we found the bike lanes wide and he roads pretty smooth and flat. We took a right turn at the first bike route sign we saw. This led us to a beach over a small hill. Then we turned around and got back on track following news ave until it turned into a private community. We entered assuming the wouldn't mind us. It was a nice road that ended at a gate. Were were able o slip around just as someone inside he building opened.it for us. Moving on towards seaside we missed he road we intended to turn right on to march he promenade. Instead we took 12th. It was now 9 am and we did a little stretch near the volleyball nets. We followed the promenade which was now getting crowded. We got back on 101 and climbed the 400 ft hill into cannon beach. The bike lanes is wide at the start and narrows toward the top. It is a pretty gradual slope. I should mention that the connection is not te best near he why 26 junction. There is a Sharp corner where traffic approaches from and you have to cross the lane. There were few cars out luckily. Descending into cannon beach here is a great route that starts by peering toward the right and goes through he heart of cannon beach and doesn't reconnect with he highway until arch cape it seemed. From there he hills started. The first one has a tunnel at the base. It is me than 400 ft. I should mention that the tunnel drips a little water and doesn't have much of bike lane. It does have a button to push which activates flashing lights at both end to caution drivers to slow to 30 mph. He descent after he hill is quick. The road rolls along before he next and largest ascent of the day. Over 500 feet. There is a great view of nehalem bay from here. The descent was nice and long rolling into manzanita. From there is is rolling hills to nehalem wheeler and rockaway. We got to rockaway at about 1pm. We checked out the local eateries in search of pasta and a clam chowder bread bowl.

Day 0

Getting to astoria. We left home at 530 and biked to union station. Tickets were easy to get as we walked in at 6. We didn't know if we would have to box the bikes. The friendly man at the counter told us it wouldn't be necessary. I asked another driver which bus was ours and she said it wasn't here yet but it would say point on the side. The bus pulled in at 615 and we loaded the bikes underneath. The driver was a friendly old man with a black cowboy hat. We took the seats in the back of the bus and were on the road by 630.

The bus is pretty tall and has huge Windows. The views were great and there wasn't much traffic. We made a few stops along the way which were mostly uneventful. Our driver ran into the store for a snack in cannon beach. Somewhere between seaside and astoria a man stumbled back to the bathroom which we were sitting near. He smelled of cigarettes and cheap booze. Ye couldnt find the door handle either. Were weren't moving and he was struggling. We helped him find the handled and he went in. A minute later we took off and I swear I heard a thud as he hit the wall. It wasn't long before strange and painful sounds we coming out of the bathroom. I think he was losing his dinner. Lindsay couldn't take it so we moved up towards the front of the bus.

We pulled into astoria just as it was getting dark at 9. The driver was friendly and chatted with us for a bit. His thinks its funny that we paid an extra 5 bucks to bring our bites and we loaded them ourselves. The slid right under the bus. We chatted about our plans, biking safety, and even a bit about the.economy and the debt crisis.

Next stop from the astoria transit center was our.seedy motel the Columbia inn. When we arrived it was just as I expected. Old an rundown. The office was in a bit of disarray with a few family photos. The man at the counter was dealing with 2 ladies and there problems. One of them was pregnant and inpatient. The man at the country had a red Chevy hat a denim jacket.and a mustache. We are.definitely in a small town.

We got to.room.114 and it had a funky old smell. There were folks on the street running and yelling. A particularly run down truck was next to our room and accompanied by some odd folks. We tossed our.stuff in and headed to Tue wet dog cafe. We got there at 940 so we just missed dinner. The waiter was a friendly man who looked at me and told lindsay that the late night bar food wouldn't work. He said this man looks like he.needs a real meal. Hes not talking about pizza he mean a meeaaaallll.  Then he sent us across the.street to Cecil. They had ft George vortex.ipa and I got vortex battered tuna. It was delicious. And he was right. We recommend eating here. It's right on the pier and we.art by Tue water watching the boats go.by. the waiter was fantastic too.

We headed back over to the wet dog for a beer. When we walked in the place had changed. Light were low music was load and we had to get our wrists stamped to get in. I got the bitter bitch and lindsay went for Tue strawberry wheat. We played simpsons pinball and titty hunt. No puck at setting high scores but 2nd and 3rd ain't bad. People kept walking out a door with an alarm so the whole bar was clapping when the next person did it. We took a final look.into the brew room which looks well used and headed back to turn in for the night.

Day 0

Getting to astoria. We left home at 530 and biked to union station. Tickets were easy to get as we walked in at 6. We didn't know if we would have to box the bikes. The friendly man at the counter told us it wouldn't be necessary. I asked another driver which bus was ours and she said it wasn't here yet but it would say point on the side. The bus pulled in at 615 and we loaded the bikes underneath. The driver was a friendly old man with a black cowboy hat. We took the seats in the back of the bus and were on the road by 630.

It's a Start

discussion has been building around blogging about the beer I brew. I should say the beer we brew as I rarely brew alone. The beer we brew is noteworthy but does it make sense to blog about it?

I answered no then yes and no once more. You see I want to do justice to the brewing experience and up until now I haven't seen a proper conduit. I'm not talking about website layout but rather content. There are endless directions to take this blog and I am embarking on one of them.

The format will be simplistic. Heavy on pictures and technique. Yes I will get into some details but you will not find long academic discussions. I do not make beer I practice brewing.

Post will at time appear terse, but there is not always a lot that needs to be said.